Tension prevailed in Bhadravathi city for some time on Sunday as members of a few right-wing organisations staged a protest condemning the Mahisha Dasara that was being observed by progressive organisations.
As part of the Mahisha Dasara celebrations, functionaries of Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS), who had gathered at the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Circle, garlanded a cut-out of Mahisha whom they described as a benevolent and liberal ruler. They claimed that Mahisha was also a follower of Buddhism and had opposed the discrimination practised in the name of caste.
Terming the Dasara festival being celebrated to mark the killing of Mahishasura by goddess Chamundeshwari as a conspiracy by the upper-castes to demonise the icons who fought against caste-based discrimination, Sathya, a functionary of DSS, demanded for replacement of the statue of Mahishasura with a snake in one hand and a sword in the other on Chamundi Hills with a statue of Mahisha as a follower of Buddhism.
Slogans raised
Members of the right-wing organisations, who arrived at the venue, raised slogans against organising Mahisha Dasara. They termed the celebration an effort to hurt religious sentiments of the people and demanded that the police stop the event.
Police personnel were deployed at Dr. Ambedkar Circle in large numbers to prevent untoward incidents. Vehicular movement here came to a standstill for more than a hour owing to these protests. As a precautionary measure, the police arrested over 40 functionaries of progressive organisations and right-wing groups and released them later.
